Lieutenant General (ret.) Robert E. Schmidle, Jr.

French Philosophers Make My Brain Hurt. I Enjoy It

Lt. Gen. (ret.) Robert E. Schmidle Jr. earned his doctorate from Georgetown University and was the first-ever Deputy Commander of United States Cyber Command. Before joining us as a panelist for “What is Our Responsibility for Our Government’s Wars?,” the first event in our Mellon Foundation-supported inquiry, “How Should Societies Remember Their Sins?,” he sat down in our green room to chat about flying, French philosophers, and his favorite spot in D.C.

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Air Force Veteran and Social Worker Noël Lipana

My Pitbull Looks Like a Ball of Blueberry Scone Dough

Noël Lipana is an Air Force veteran and social worker. Before joining us as a panelist for “What Is Our Responsibility for Our Government’s Wars?,” the first event in our …

How to Treat the ‘Wounds to the Soul’ | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

How to Treat the ‘Wounds to the Soul’

A Therapist Assembles an Emotional Toolbox to Help Us Grapple With Collective Trauma

he subterranean strata of U.S. wrongdoing run deep—the genocide of Native Americans, the long history of slavery and racism, the effects of xenophobia, the illegal wars of aggression around the …

The Birth of Wheelchair Basketball | Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

The Birth of Wheelchair Basketball

World War II Veterans Popularized the Sport—And Changed the Game for the Disability Rights Movement

On an unremarkable Wednesday evening in the spring of 1948, 15,561 spectators flocked to New York’s Madison Square Garden to watch two teams of World War II veterans play an …

Portraits of Loyalty

Shane Sato Depicts Japanese-American Veterans Who Fought for the Country That Imprisoned Their Friends and Families

Growing up as a Japanese American in a Los Angeles suburb, Shane Sato says, he felt “safe and comfortable” and had little, if any, experience with racism or prejudice. Only …